St. Louis 4, Washington 3
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 1, 2015
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia
Referees:
Francois St. Laurent, Gord Dwyer
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Steve Miller
Attendance:
18506
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blues 4, Capitals 3: Alex Steen collected two goals and an assist as visiting St. Louis overcame Alex Ovechkin's milestone performance to skate to its fifth straight victory.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his team-leading 25th goal and added an assist for the Blues, who saw All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk suffer a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return. Dmitrij Jaskin also tallied, T.J. Oshie notched three assists and Brian Elliott finished with 33 saves as St. Louis improved to 10-0-1 in its last 11 games and posted a season-high fourth consecutive road victory.
Ovechkin's first of his two tallies allowed him to become the fifth player to reach the 30-goal plateau in each of his first 10 consecutive seasons in the league. Karl Alzner also scored, fellow defenseman Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom each had two assists and Justin Peters turned aside 36 shots for the Capitals, who have dropped six of their last seven (1-4-2).
Jaskin's initial bid from in close caromed off the skate of Washington's Troy Brouwer, but the 21-year-old Russian spotted the loose puck in the slot and fired a shot inside the left post to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead with 4:03 left in the second period. Tarasenko's one-timer capped a 2-on-1 rush at 6:13 of the third before Alzner's blast from the point beat a screened Elliott, but the Capitals failed to net the equalizer.
After Steen scored from the right circle to open the scoring 2:34 into the contest, Ovechkin unleashed a one-timer from the left circle midway into the first period to record his league-best 14th power-play goal. Steen followed a pretty passing sequence by tucking the puck past a sprawling Peters to give the Blues a 2-1 lead at 11:45 of the second, but Ovechkin forced a turnover under three minutes later and wristed a shot past Elliott to forge a tie with his league-leading 31st goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ovechkin made exclusive company with his first goal, joining Mike Gartner (1979-94, 15 years), Wayne Gretzky (1979-92, 13 years), Mike Bossy (1977-87, 10 years) and Jari Kurri (1980-90, 10 years) as the lone players to record 30 tallies in the first 10 years of their career. ... St. Louis captain David Backes was whistled after his vicious hit from behind on Alzner, resulting in a five-minute boarding penalty and a game misconduct at 5:25 of the second period. The ejection brought an end to Backes' career-high nine-game point streak. ... Washington fell to 2-7-1 in the latter half of back-to-back contests this season.
Top Game Performances
| St. Louis |
|
Washington |
|
Alexander Steen 3 |
Points |
Alex Ovechkin 3 |
|
Alexander Steen 2 |
Goals |
Alex Ovechkin 2 |
|
T.J. Oshie 3 |
Assists |
Nicklas Backstrom 2 |
|
Alexander Steen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Alex Ovechkin 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Brian Elliott .917 |
Save Percentage |
Justin Peters .900 |
|
Brian Elliott 33 |
Saves |
Justin Peters 36 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| St. Louis
|
40 |
4 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
21 |
22 |
| Washington
|
36 |
3 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
8 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Capitals have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .542 after a loss.
-
St. Louis will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Blues have a W/L % of .710 after a win and .556 after a loss.
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